Load binding winch control mechanism



July 21, 1964 FIG. I

R. GRAY LQAD BINDING WINCH CONTROL MECHANISM Filed June 8, 1962INVENTOR. ROBERT H. GRAY u mwww ATTORN EY United States Patent 3,141,353LOAD BINDING WINCH CONTROL MECHANISM Robert H. Gray, Portland, Oreg.,assignor to Preferred Growth Capital, Inc., a corporation of OregonFiled June 8, 1962, Ser. No. 201,190 8 Claims. (Cl. 74-577) Thisinvention relates to new and useful improvements in control mechanismsfor load binding winches or any form of winding shaft.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novelarrangement of rotatable control member and latch operative with awinding shaft and capable of functioning wherein selectively to provideone-way operation of said winding shaft to bind a load, to provide forsequential, controlled unwinding of the shaft, and to provide for freerelease or uncontrolled winding of said shaft.

Another object is to provide a control mechanism for a winding shaftwhich is positive in operation and facilitates safety in use of thewinding shaft.

Still another object is to provide a control mechanism for a windingshaft which is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, andrugged in operation.

Briefly stated, the control mechanism comprises a rotatable member inthe form of a ratchet wheel and a latch member associated therewith inthe form of a pawl wherein the ratchet wheel forms an integral part of awinding shaft or drum and the pawl has a plurality of positionssome ofwhich function to control operation of the ratchet wheel. In a firstposition, the pawl permits one-way winding or load binding rotation ofthe ratchet wheel; in a second position the pawl provides forsequential, controlled unwinding of the ratchet wheel and drum; and in athird position provides for free release or uncontrolled unwinding ofthe ratchet wheel. The first two positions of the pawl compriseover-center positions accomplished by spring means operative thereon.The pawl is held in the third position by a stop member.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferredform of the device and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of a loadbinding winch incorporating the present control mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view showing two positions of the pawl inthe control mechanism, one of which is shown in full lines and the otherof which is shown in dotted lines; and

FIGURE 3 shows a third position of the pawl.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, the present controlmechanism is operative in conjunction with load binding means such as awinch having a body portion provided with side walls 12 and 14 whichsupport therebetween a rotatable winding shaft or drum 16. Body portion10 has bottom apertures 18 for the reception of fastening means ifdesired to attach the winch to a support. One end of winding drum 16integrally carries an apertured lever engaging drum 20 for rotating thedrum, and the opposite end of the drum integrally carries a ratchetwheel 22.

The ratchet wheel 22, in accordance with the present invention, is ofnovel construction employing pairs of teeth 24 between each pair ofwhich is disposed a tooth 26 of greater length than teeth 24. Thus, itis apparent that the outer ends of teeth 24 and 26 operate at differentradial distances in the same plane. Although the arrangement of teeth 24and 26 is illustrated as comprising two teeth 24 to one tooth 26, it isto be understood that such different length teeth may be one to one ormay 3,141,353 Patented July 21, 1964 be three or more teeth 24 to onetooth 26, depending upon a desired sequential unwinding function as willbe more apparent hereinafter.

Associated with the ratchet wheel 22 is a pawl 30 journaled on a bolt orpin 32 supported in the end wall 14 of the winch and also in an upturnedtab 34 forming a part of an end housing 36 on the body portion 10 of thewinch. Pawl 30 has a downwardly projecting edge portion 38 engageablewith a leaf spring 40 supported at its opposite ends on shoulders 42provided interiorly of the housing 36. Housing 36 has an opening 44intermediate the shoulders 42 to permit downward flexing of the leafspring.

The arrangement and structure of the pawl 30 and spring 40 are such thatsaid pawl element is movable to and maintained in a pair of over-centerpositions, such over-center positions being shown in full and dottedlines in FIGURE 2.

Pawl 30 has two teeth 48 and 50 disposed in spaced relation, the firstof which is adapted to engage the tooth slots of the ratchet wheel tocontrol operation of the ratchet wheel and the second of which isadapted for engagement only by the elongated teeth 26 of the ratchetwheel in an unwinding operation for rotating the pawl from one of itsover-center positions to the other. More particularly, the pawl teethare constructed and arranged and the pivot point of the pawl is suchthat in a first over-center position of the pawl, i.e. in the full lineposition of FIGURE 2, tooth 48 engages the toothed slots of the ratchetwheel and as the pawl is spring loaded it allows the ratchet wheel andload binding drum to be operated one tooth at a time in a load bindingdirection, i.e. in the direction of arrow 52, FIGURE 2. In thisover-center position of the pawl 30, its tooth 50 is out of the plane ofall the teeth of the ratchet Wheel.

Tooth 50 of the pawl is operative with the elongated teeth 26 on theratchet wheel to unwind the drum sequentially. In an unwindingoperation, i.e., in the direction of arrow 54 in FIGURE 2, the pressureis first released from the drum by slight rotation of lever engagingdrum 20 in the direction of arrow 52 to release the tooth 48 from theratchet wheel and then the pawl is rotated counterclockwise to itssecond over-center position as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2, thepawl having a finger-engaging tab 56 projecting laterally from thehousing for convenient engagement by the operator. In this secondover-center position, tooth 48 is out of the plane of all the teeth ofthe ratchet wheel but tooth 50, while out of the plane of teeth 24 is inthe plane of teeth 26. Thus, as the drum unwinds, a tooth 26 of theratchet wheel engages tooth 5t) and rotates the pawl back to its firstover-center or full-line position to bring tooth 48 into engagement withthe ratchet wheel and stop it.

By repeatedly accomplishing the above unwinding step, the drum isunwound sequentially in a controlled function.

At times it may be desired to release completely the ratchet wheel 22from the pawl to provide for uncontrolled unwinding of the drum, and forthis purpose a rotatable stop 58 is mounted on the winch housingadjacent the pawl 30, the rotatable mounting being accomplished by a pin60 supported in the end wall 14 of the winch body portion 10. Stop 58has an end abutting edge 62 which is adapted for engagement with a flatedge 64 on the pawl 30 leading from the tooth 50. In the normal windingand sequential unwinding positions of the pawl the stop 58 is rotated toan upright position as shown in FIGURE 2, the stop having a fingerengaging tab 66 to accomplish rotation thereof. However, for freerotation of the drum the stop 58 is rotated counterclockwise almost to aposition adapted for'engagement with the edge 64 of the pawl, as shownin FIGURE 3.

The parts are dimensioned such that in this intermediate position bothteeth 48 and 50 of the pawl are out of the plane of the ratchet wheelteeth which of course allows free rotation of the drum and release ofthe load on the winch.

In the intermediate FIGURE 3 position of the pawl it is substantiallycentered between its two over-center positions and the friction ofspring 40 on the projection 38 holds the pawl in such position andprevents it from rotating counter-clockwise.

Thus, in accordance With the present invention there is provided acontrol mechanism by means of which a cable may be ratchet wound on thedrum, and for release purposes the drum may be unwound sequentiallythrough a distance dependent upon the number of elongated teeth 26 onthe ratchet wheel, or it may be unwound freely. Such mechanismfacilitates convenience in operation of the winch. This mechanism alsofacilitates safe use of said winch in that by suitable operation of thepawl a positive sequential unwinding is accomplished, and if desiredeach sequential Winding step may operate through more than one tooth ofthe ratchet wheel.

It is to be understood that the invention may take other forms than thatshown and that all such modifications and variations within the scope ofthe appended claims which will occur to persons skilled in the art areincluded in the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Control mechanism in combination with a winding shaft comprising arotatable member integrally connected to said shaft, a pair of sets ofprojections on said rotatable member operable at diiferent radialdistances in the same plane, a latch member pivotally operable betweenfirst and second positions, said latch member in the first positionthereof being engageable by all of said projections to provide one-wayforward winding of said shaft, and in the second position beingengageable by one set of projections only upon reverse rotation of saidshaft to return said latch member to its first psition.

2. The control mechanism of claim 1 wherein said rotatable membercomprises a ratchet wheel and projections comprise teeth thereon.

3. The control mechanism of claim 1 wherein rotatable member comprises aratchet wheel and projections comprise teeth thereon and wherein latchmember comprises a pawl.

4. The control mechanism of claim 1 wherein said rotatable membercomprises a ratchet wheel and said sets of projections comprise teethsome of which are longer than others to operate at said different radialdistances in the same plane.

5. The control mechanism of claim 1 wherein said first and' secondpositions of said latch member comprise over-center positions, andspring means operative on said latch member to hold the latter in saidovercenter positions.

6. The control mechanism of claim 1 wherein said latch member has a pairof teeth members one of which is engageable by all of said projectionsto provide said one-way winding of said shaft and the other of which isengageable by one set of said projections only for returning said latchmember to its said first position.

7. The control mechanism of claim 1 including stop means adapted toengage said latch member and hold the latter in a position intermediateits two positions, said latch member in said intermediate position beingout of the plane of said projections to allow free unwinding of saidshaft.

8. The control mechanism of claim 7 wherein said stop means is pivotalbetween are inoperative position and a position for engagement with saidlatch member.

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said said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,270,809 Freeman July 2, 1918 2,941,627 Beebe on June 21, 19602,990,159 Haferkom June 27, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 943,417 France Oct. 4,1948

1. CONTROL MECHANISM IN COMBINATION WITH A WINDING SHAFT COMPRISING AROTATABLE MEMBER INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO SAID SHAFT, A PAIR OF SETS OFPROJECTIONS ON SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER OPERABLE AT DIFFERENT RADIALDISTANCES IN THE SAME PLANE, A LATCH MEMBER PIVOTALLY OPERABLE BETWEENFIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, SAID LATCH MEMBER IN THE FIRST POSITIONTHEREOF BEING ENGAGEABLE BY ALL OF SAID PROJECTIONS TO PROVIDE ONE-WAYFORWARD WINDING OF SAID SHAFT, AND IN THE SECOND POSITION BEINGENGAGEABLE BY ONE SET OF PROJECTIONS ONLY UPON REVERSE ROTATION OF SAIDSHAFT TO RETURN SAID LATCH MEMBER TO ITS FIRST POSITION.